About the challenge

The DawsHacks challenge will be open-ended and built around a pre-determined theme, allowing participants to interpret the problem space creatively and explore their own ideas.

Beginner Friendly

To make the experience accessible to everyone — especially beginners — we will also provide guiding project ideas, example directions, and mentorship throughout the event. Whether participants want to experiment, learn new tools, or build something impactful, the goal is to create a supportive environment where anyone can start building.

Requirements

What to Build

The challenge is intentionally very open-ended. Participants are free to build anything they want, as long as it connects to the event’s theme. Whether it’s a web app, game, AI tool, mobile app, creative prototype, or something experimental, the goal is to explore ideas, learn, and create something meaningful. Beginners are welcome, and guiding project ideas will be available for those who want a starting direction.

 

What to Submit

All teams will be evaluated based on the progress demonstrated in their GitHub repository throughout the event. Judges will review commits, development history, and the overall evolution of each project.

The main submission should include a public GitHub repository containing your code, along with a clear README explaining your project, how to run it, and what was built during the hackathon. Teams are also encouraged to include screenshots, demos, or short videos to help showcase their work.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$CAD 1,000+ in prizes
+ other prizes
First Place
$CAD 500 in cash
1 winner

Second Prize
$CAD 300 in cash
1 winner

Third Prize
$CAD 200 in cash
1 winner

First Place Beginner Prize
1 winner

1-year subscriptions for NordVPN, NordPass, NordProtect and Incogni (up to 4 individuals).
1 GB of free data for Saily (up to 4 individuals).
3-month access and €200 credit for nexos.ai (up to 4 individuals)

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Nicolae

Nicolae
Solution Developper at Deloitte

Amyly Nguyen

Amyly Nguyen
3 years of experience at CAE Tech

Bianca Rossetti

Bianca Rossetti
2 internships experience as Full Stach Developper

Jules

Jules
2 year CST Dawson student

Judging Criteria

  • Faithfulness to the theme
    Has to have a connection to the main theme of the Hackathon.
  • Code Standards and Quality
    Good practices: organized file structure, clear naming (files, classes, methods, variables), any documentation. Bad practices: unnecessarily long methods/blocks, inability to explain their own code, code that doesn't run.
  • Creativity and Innovation
    Beginners: creativity via personal growth, new concepts, or outside knowledge — pushing beyond current understanding. Regular: blend CS disciplines, original ideas, push beyond past projects.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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